


For Tomorrow You May Die

by YumeArashi



Category: Fushigi Yuugi
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Pre-battle moments, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-17
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 19:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/642214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeArashi/pseuds/YumeArashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the last quiet hours on the eve of battle, the Suzaku seishi prepare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Tomorrow You May Die

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers up to episode 44, references to character death

Despite the fine summer evening, the air was tense in Konan's royal palace. Kutou had declared war. Their army had invaded Konan, burning villages and slaughtering the inhabitants. Konan's army had fought valiantly but largely in vain. Tomorrow, outside the capital city, the last stand would be made. The remainder of the army, along with the now powerless seishi and their Miko, would raise a final defense. In different parts of the palace, each prepared for what he knew might be his last day.

                                                           *****

In the royal chambers, the Emperor of Konan wept as he made love to his wife, as he had ever since their wedding night. He had tried to love her. He had always honored her and treated her with the utmost respect. He honestly wished he were able to love her the way she deserved, but he had never escaped the shadow of the purple-haired seishi who so resembled her. He had acquiesced to the silent plea in his wife's eyes, this night before he left to lead the battle personally, but even as he tried desperately to drown himself in her, his thoughts turned to the other. _Nuriko, will I be joining you soon?_ Hotohori's advisors had wanted him to stay safely in the palace, but he couldn't sit idly by any longer, while everything he loved was in danger. He was needed -- by his country and his people as well as by his wife and their unborn child.  _Our child..._ His tears fell faster as he thought of the child he might never meet, carried by a woman he could not love. _I wanted to be a good father, but how can I? I don't even know if I'll live to see my child._

                                                           *****

Kouji looked up at a knock on his door. He opened it to find his best friend on the other side, with a small bottle in his hand. Tasuki held out the bottle with a smirk.

"Thought we could start celebratin' early," he grinned. "This's some of the best stuff in the palace. There's not much of it -- even I know this is a piss-poor time to get plastered -- but I figured a little won't hurt." Kouji laughed.

"The best stuff in the palace, huh? So didja swipe it or what?" Tasuki chuckled and smacked him lightly on the head.

"Course not, aho!" He then grew serious. "Hotohori-sama said I could; it's his way of sayin' 'thanks' for comin' to help us out." Kouji smiled.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world! It was gettin' too quiet back home. Let's drink, ne?" Tasuki smirked again.

"Hold yer horses, ya boozehound, I'm gettin' to it!" He shared out the clear, fiery liquid and passed a glass to his friend. "Kouji, I propose a toast. To friendship!"

Kouji was about to laugh at his friend's solemn declaration, but a sudden sadness in Genrou's eyes stopped him.

"Hai, Genrou -- to friendship," he quietly replied.

After the toast had been drunk, Tasuki refilled the glasses and broke the mood, asking, "So how have things been back home? I didn't exactly get a chance to ask earlier!" Kouji grinned, glad to see Genrou back to normal, and answered cockily.

"Well, of course, now that I'm leading them, things have never been better for the Mount Reikaku bandits! Merchants curse our name far and wide, their guards are terrified of us, and riches have been pouring in!" Tasuki snorted.

"And do the guys remember the time their wonderful new leader botched a raid so badly he wound up sitting in a magistrate's jail for a week? I still say we shoulda left your sorry ass there!" Kouji turned red.

"Shaddup, aho! I seem to remember a certain bigmouthed fangboy who drunkenly insulted a nobleman and had to kiss major ass in order to keep his head!" Now it was Tasuki's turn to blush. Soon the two old friends were engaged in raking over past embarrassments and boasting over past exploits. By common consent, neither mentioned the future.

                                                           *****

Chichiri turned his mask over and over in his hands before tossing it onto a table with a sigh. If this was to be the last night of his life, he didn't want it to be a lie. His mind returned to the past, to the day that had given him the scar that sealed shut his left eye. _Hikou, will I be apologizing to you in person before tomorrow's over? Would you forgive me if I did? And Kouran..._ The thought of his dead fiancée still hurt him, even now. _What could I say to you? The way things ended between us..._ Chichiri stopped that line of thought and rebuked himself. _At least I got to know what love is. I had someone to love and be loved by, even if it was only for a little while. Nuriko and Chiriko never had that; one was too young and the other loved only in vain. I should be grateful for what I had, even if I lost it._ He realized he was pacing restlessly, and decided to go for a walk. Even by night, the imperial gardens were ethereally beautiful, silvered by moonlight and swaying in a gentle breeze. Walking there had never failed to calm the nature lover in Chichiri, and though he could not fully relax, the peacefulness eased the ache in his soul. He leaned on a railing, watching the wind ripple the shimmering surface of a pond and feeling it playfully toss his bangs. It was hard to believe there could be something as terrible as war in a world that held such beauty. Hearing a sound from the palace, Chichiri cocked his head to listen.

He recognized the sound of a woman's heartbroken weeping and shivered. Maybe not so hard to believe after all... Listening closer, he could hear other sounds as well -- the desperate joviality of comrades trying to forget how many of them would never see another day, a wailing child waked from a nightmare of slaughter. Terrified people facing a future without hope, their anguished voices tore at Chichiri's heart as he fled further from the palace, tears rolling down his ruined face.

                                                           *****

Mitsukake methodically checked over his medical supplies, knowing how much they'd be needed the next day. Although he'd lost his powers, he was still trained in the healing arts. He glared at the armor he'd been given. He knew his skills as a doctor made him too valuable to be on the battlefield unprotected, but he still disliked the necessity. He was a healer, not a soldier.  He had already asked that no weapon be issued him, and though Hotohori had looked troubled, he had understood and accepted the request. Mitsukake's duty was to save lives, not end them, and too many people had died already. He thought of Chiriko, just thirteen years old. But so brave. How much courage must it have taken, to be dying and to still turn down the chance to live? Mitsukake's heart always ached at the knowledge that he'd been unable to save the two people who had meant the most to him. He had returned from a journey to find the woman he loved dead of an illness he could have cured had he only been there, and the boy who'd been like a son to him had refused Mitsukake's offer to heal his wounds, knowing that to die meant their enemy would die with him. For a brief moment, a whispering thought crossed Mitsukake's mind… _Would it be so bad, if you died tomorrow? You'd be with them again..._ He shook his head angrily. _No! I can't just give up! They need me too much for that! I will not go carelessly throwing myself away. I can still be of use, even without my powers._  He laughed then, softly and sadly. _Besides, if you did that, Shoka and Chiriko would never let you hear the end of it._

Tama-neko, concerned for his friend, leapt lightly onto Mitsukake's shoulder. The gentle healer picked up the little cat and buried his tears in its soft fur.

                                                           *****

Kouji yawned.

"Na, Genrou, as much fun as it's been shooting the bull, we'd better get some shut-eye. S'a big day tomorrow." Tasuki nodded, but didn't get up to leave.

"Ne, Kouji, I got a question for ya..." Kouji regarded his best friend carefully, noting the anxious look in the amber eyes.

"Sure, Genrou. What's up?" Tasuki shifted uneasily, blushing a little, and spoke rapidly.

"D'ya remember when we were little kids, when I was scared or worried about something you'd let me stay the night with you? Well, I know it sounds weird, but ya think we could do that tonight? I'm not bein' hentai or anything, I just..I just don't want to be alone tonight." Kouji nodded his understanding, his green eyes gentle as he gave his friend a hug.

"Gen-chan, it doesn't sound strange to me at all."

                                                           *****

Mitsukake hastily dried his eyes as a soft knock sounded at his door. Chichiri looked in, his maskless face still marked with the tracks of his own tears. Mitsukake gave him a sad, understanding smile and invited him in. Chichiri went in and sat by his friend.

"I thought you might like some company. I know I'd welcome it right now." Mitsukake nodded, knowing that company was being sought as much as it was being offered.

"Hai, I'd be glad of it. Tonight is not a night to be alone, I think."

"Hai..." The two friends, united by past sorrow, passed the hours in quiet companionship. Neither wanted to separate and resume his solitude, so when they tired of their thoughts, they simply fell asleep in their respective chairs.

                                                             *****

Hotohori held his sleeping wife, his silent tears staining her dark hair. He had never felt more alone. "Houki," he whispered, "Gomennasai."


End file.
